Inside the Spirit Gathering Hall.
"Not a bad score. I told you that tempering yourself here would definitely yield results.
"I just didn't expect it to prove true so quickly.
"Our Spirit Gathering Hall tempers people better than anywhere else, and more than anything, we pay according to results.
"With a score like yours, that's fifty spirit source. That's a baseline of lighting up five beads. Each additional bead counts for seven spirit source, and with a bit of effort, you can light up seven or eight.
"That comes out to around seventy a day, or two thousand spirit source a month—far more than what ordinary folk make."
Manager Miao looked at Jiang Man with a smile.
Jiang Man calculated inwardly: lighting up two extra beads would be fifty plus fourteen, merely sixty-four.
It didn't even match what Luo Xuan paid for sparring.
For a moment, he understood why Song Qing was so desperate to become her personal guard.
What she offered was simply too generous.
He wondered if Song Qing really would end up running over to her.
Pausing, Jiang Man said, "Does the manager need to inspire the others today? When I arrived, I was only at the first layer of Qi-Linking, and now I'm at the Qi-Linking third layer. I can serve as an example. It's all thanks to the Spirit Gathering Hall's cultivation."
Hearing this, Manager Miao looked at Jiang Man in surprise. "Double pay?"
Jiang Man nodded earnestly. "Double."
In the end, Jiang Man feigned gritting his teeth and lit up eight beads.
That came out to seventy-one spirit source.
He went up onto the stage, gave thanks for the Spirit Gathering Hall's cultivation, and received double:
A hundred and forty-two spirit source.
It was a day of handsome earnings.
As for whether anyone else believed it—
Jiang Man felt that any sane person entering this place would never believe it could actually cultivate someone.
Even if someone truly did believe it, they would merely hold out a bit longer, finish their studies in the Three Halls and Six Pavilions, and return to their village.
They would take back a sizable sum of spirit source,
living a life somewhat better than ordinary farmhands working the fields.
The people here had essentially severed their own path of immortal cultivation.
With a damaged foundation, what future could there be?
Unless they were like him—having reached the ninth layer of the Qi-Linking Method, capable of retaining a portion of spiritual qi to control the foundation's damage.
Still, coming here meant cultivation could not progress.
Fortunately, he had been focusing recently on advancing his Qi and Blood Method, so he wasn't worried about his cultivation progress.
In the days that followed, Jiang Man did nothing else.
He cultivated by day and earned spirit source by night.
Whenever he accumulated three hundred, he bought beast meat
to keep advancing the Qi and Blood Method.
During this period, however, Jiang Man noticed that Song Qing's mood was somewhat off. When he asked, Song Qing merely shook his head and sighed repeatedly,
not uttering a single word about it.
Yet he clearly appeared to have suffered quite a setback.
Over on Luo Xuan's side, the looks she cast his way were not pleasant either.
Jiang Man thought of the handkerchief.
Most likely, she had been fishing, but the intended fish hadn't bitten—Song Qing had taken the bait instead.
Jiang Man felt helpless. Now both the first and second-ranked students had a grievance with him.
He needed to avoid them as much as possible,
lest it hinder his cultivation.
Half a month later.
Jiang Man had earned one thousand spirit source, all of which went into purchasing beast meat.
All his spare time was devoted to cultivating qi and blood.
Yet even with a ninth-layer Qi-Blood Method, his cultivation speed was not exceptionally fast; by now, he had barely managed to open the third qi-and-blood gourd.
His body had certainly grown much firmer and sturdier.
In his hands, the Six Harmonies Palm became even more potent.
His Divine Travel Step was also considerably faster.
As expected, increases in both cultivation and qi and blood influenced the power of techniques.
In early October.
The teachers of each courtyard began instructing everyone to pay attention to discipline, focus on cultivating, and refrain from reckless behavior.
The entire Yunqian Division even began cleaning and sprucing up various areas.
Even Jiang Man's stable was repaired, and he was told to sweep it clean.
Everyone was puzzled, but under the authority of the teachers and the Yunqian Division, they had no choice but to comply.
Three days later.
Word finally spread: representatives from the Wuyun Sect were coming.
Supposedly, they were arriving on an inspection.
Another three days later.
Further news circulated that powerful sect figures would inspect the Three Halls and Six Pavilions, touring all three major courtyards—Front, Middle, and Rear.
If someone caught their eye, that person could rise straight to the clouds.
In an instant, everyone's cultivation grew enthusiastic.
Although most felt it was unlikely to happen to them, what if?
Everything hung on that one "what if."
What if one were chosen?
That would alter one's destiny.
Jiang Man was somewhat surprised to hear this as well.
Yet he knew that the people from the sect were not actually coming for an inspection; they were merely passing through due to certain reasons.
The benefit they brought to the Yunqian Division consisted of three mortal-rank superior-grade cultivation techniques.
It seemed Teacher Zhao hadn't lied, but Jiang Man had not yet received any further word.
He had no choice but to keep waiting.
If this path didn't work out, in the end he truly would have to stay far away from Luoyun City and become an evil heretic.
October fourteenth.
After finishing absorbing the newly bought beast meat, Jiang Man let out a breath of relief.
The third qi-and-blood gourd was full.
He could begin advancing his cultivation.
Yet with only a single month remaining, doing so would likely require quite a few Spirit Gathering Pills.
At present, his speed at earning spirit source was not particularly fast.
In a month, he could at most buy six pills, and six would likely be far from enough.
"Brother Jiang, what are you doing?" the little fatty asked, coming up to Jiang Man's side with curiosity. "Thinking about tomorrow?"
Lowering his voice, he whispered, "Brother Jiang, are you confident you'll make the top fifteen tomorrow?"
Jiang Man turned to look at the little fatty chewing on dried meat. After thinking for a moment, he felt that if he carried on like this, he definitely wouldn't succeed in advancing to the Qi-Linking sixth layer.
He needed to shift his thinking.
Earning spirit source was simply too slow.
For a short-term need, one shouldn't try to earn—one should borrow.
"Xiao Gao, I heard you get quite a lot of spirit source every month?" Jiang Man asked.
Of course, he had never heard any such thing; he was making it up on the spot.
The little fatty looked surprised, then shook his head. "No, those are all rumors. My family doesn't give me spirit source."
Surprised, Jiang Man asked, "Not a single bit?"
"Not a single bit," the little fatty said firmly.
This truly surprised Jiang Man. It seemed this avenue was a dead end.
In that case, he could only turn to Teacher Zhao and hope the man could lend a hand.
Yet before Jiang Man could begin cultivating, the little fatty added, "They just give me Spirit Gathering Pills. Six pills a month. I still have ten left right now. Do you want them, Brother Jiang?"
Jiang Man stared in astonishment. Six pills a month, and half a month had already passed—how did he end up with four extra?
"I can't finish them," the little fatty said, spreading his hands helplessly. "I can't absorb that much. With every pill, a lot of the medicinal potency actually goes to waste."
When one's Qi-Linking Method was not high enough in level, such a situation was indeed common.
After a brief deliberation, Jiang Man decided to borrow six pills.
Combined with the two thousand one hundred spirit source he had earned, that would make thirteen Spirit Gathering Pills in total.
Add to that the relentless efforts of his ninth-layer Qi-Linking Method,
and he could just barely reach the Qi-Linking sixth layer.
As long as he opened the sixth gourd, he would be at the Qi-Linking sixth layer.
It might be cutting it close, but the qualifications would be met.
After handing Jiang Man six Spirit Gathering Pills, the little fatty whispered, "Do you want to borrow an opportunity in the Spirit Gathering Hall?"
"An opportunity in the Spirit Gathering Hall?" Jiang Man was familiar with the Spirit Gathering Hall and knew that people could enter it to cultivate.
Starting at one thousand spirit source.
The amount of spiritual qi in one thousand spirit source equaled that of an ordinary Spirit Gathering Pill.
The only difference was that the spiritual qi in the Spirit Gathering Hall was easy to absorb.
For those whose Qi-Linking Method was at a lower tier, it was exceptionally friendly.
"With so many resources, how are you only at the Qi-Linking second layer?" Jiang Man asked, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
"Before, I didn't work hard, so I didn't get this many resources. Now that I'm advancing alongside you, Brother Jiang, I get more resources, but the expectations are higher too." Pausing, the little fatty immediately added, "So, Brother Jiang, you have to cultivate hard and strive to climb even higher in rank."
Jiang Man was dumbfounded. What did that have to do with his own advancement?
Chapter 25